Thursday, September 22, 2016

In the Beginning Part 2 - Internet Overdose

Games were fun, but the real game changer was the release of ADSL internet connections to the general public. Still incredibly slow by today's standards it opened up a whole new world to kids my age: everything was now just one click away.

Nights spent watching Best Motoring

This meant two things: our household phone bills went to the roof (billing was tied to usage hours)and I literally spent an insane amount of hours searching and downloading every bit of information about Japan car culture and motorsport. Endless nights spent downloading every episode of Best Motoring and collecting thousands (literally) of pictures of Japanese cars on my hard-drive. I even bought a small scale model of a Bayside Blue R34 V-spec II.

Vintage JGTC years

My interest for cars quickly translated in a much bigger interest for visiting Japan: the lights, the buildings, the landscapes - everything was so cool and light years away from what you'd get in a small town in northern Italy.

This is where I grew up

Another planet...

Still, information weren't as available as today, with very little material in Italian or English - getting to Japan seemed an obscure feat that only few selected could achieve. This, combined with money: the flight price alone was enough to kill all my savings and pretty much unaffordable for the average Italian family.

Year 2003, we all start somewhere (I still own this model).

As the university years rolled on it was time to stop dreaming about Japanese cars and start getting a job. Tokyo seemed far, far away...

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About Me

From hundreds of hours spent mastering the perfect lap on Gran Turismo to owning and driving a R34 GT-R V-spec II Nür in Tokyo.
This blog is to share my personal experience living and breathing Japan car culture.